SEMA 2011 Recap

Exomotive is back home in Atlanta after returning from an amazing SEMA show last week. The SEMA Show is the premier automotive specialty products trade event in the world. A trade-only event not open to the general public, it draws the industry’s brightest minds and hottest products to one place, the Las Vegas Convention Center. This year drew more than 50,000 domestic and international attendees coming from all over the world for educational seminars, product demonstrations, special events, networking opportunities and more. We exhibited with Dove Racing Enterprises in booth #33236 which was located in the First Time & Featured Exhibitors hall. During each of the 31 hours the show floor was open, our booth was absolutely inundated with traffic. Two of the four days I didn’t even get a chance to step away for lunch!

Overall, the show surpassed all of my expectations and we had some incredible exposure for the MEV brand in the US. With deposits taken on Rockets and Exocets, we certainly had an excellent first show in the US market. On top of the thousand+ people we spoke to about the MEV model lineup, we made many new contacts and began multiple new business relationships within the industry during our stay. Some exciting things coming out of those relationships soon are lower price shipping options for US buyers, new LED lighting options, custom ECUs for the Exocet, new options for composite panels and discussions for electric drivetrain options for our kits.

Keep your eyes open on the web for new photos of the car and booth from the show – by my count we had well over 2000 people come by the booth just to snap some photos! We had a great corner booth location and I enjoyed watching the expressions on peoples faces as they walked around the corner and were greeted by the extreme looks of the Rocket. Their eyes widened and stopped them in their tracks – I think the Rocket had more of an impact that most of the booth girls!

I personally want to thank everyone who helped make this happen, including Stuart Mills at MEV, Paul, Leighton and Liam at RTR, Pete & Yvonne Dove, my wife for taking time off work to come help us exhibit, the SEMA Action Network for pushing legislation to ease the experience for kit car builders across America, and of course each and every one of you here on the MEV board – the photos, videos and experiences you share are a constant help for us spreading the brand on this side of the pond. We could not do what we are doing without you. Also to the the over 1000 people I personally spoke to on the show floor – your plans, ideas and enthusiasm for your personal builds are inspiring.

As we get back to business in Atlanta and the post-show high winds down, I am re-energized by the wonderful reception we have had and our slew of new orders for MEVs. Pete and I look forward to filling your orders and we are extremely excited with our prospects for 2012 and beyond. We will not soon forget this SEMA show and look forward to the next.